U.S. manufacturers have cut 5 million jobs since 2000. Trump has threatened to impose taxes on Chinese imports and to label China a "currency manipulator" for allegedly pushing its currency lower to give Chinese exporters a price advantage.

Navarro, author of "Death By China," also endorses a hard line toward China. Navarro has dismissed warnings that imposing sanctions on China could trigger a destructive trade war if China retaliates by targeting U.S. imports.

He and Wilbur Ross — an investment banker tapped to be Trump's Commerce secretary — have argued that China and other U.S. trade partners have more to lose in a trade conflict because they depend so much on the U.S. market.

Trump has already rattled U.S.-China relations. Earlier this month, he broke protocol by taking a call from the president of Taiwan.

China views Taiwan as a renegade province and considers any acknowledgement that it has its own head of state as a grave insult.

Trump also said he did not feel bound by the longstanding "one-China" policy in which the United States agrees that Taiwan and the Chinese mainland are part of a single China.